5 Indian Festivals You Must Witness

Festivals are a tool to bring life to a state of excitement and enthusiasm. India is the land of festivals, because of the wide variety of festivals celebrated within the country. Indian festivals are truly a manifestation of its rich culture and tradition. It is a land where people from different religions coexist harmoniously, hence, India is known for its sensory-busting, exciting, festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. Each of the religion within the country may celebrate different festivals for different reasons, but they have one thing in common; each festival is a spectacle to behold.

Let us go in order of events to understand how Diwali is one of the most spectacular festivals India celebrates. It begins with shopping, which starts almost a month before the festival.

The ardent love for shopping rushes out instantly during the Diwali, with special discounts and offers that makes the shoppers go gaga. If you happen to visit India during Diwali, you shall find yourself surrounded by amazing and strikingly beautiful lights all around you. The joy of decorating houses with lights during this time is overwhelming. It is also the time when most of them ignore their diets and break the rules by treating themselves to every delicacy available. You shall also find people who embellish themselves by donning their best traditional wear. The beautiful people and the pretty faces add lights to city. Bursting crackers maybe considered to be sheer madness by a lot of people, but the excitement is still alive in a lot of people and the energy that kids show to burst crackers is quite infectious.

SOURCE: makemytrip.com

Dussehra

Dussehra is a festival of reverence of good and its power to subdue evil. This exhilarating festival is celebrated by Hindus across the country for 10 days. The first nine days that precede Dussehra are collectively known as ‘Navratri’. The amazing thing about this festival is that each region has their own way of celebrating Dussehra. For Bengalis, Dussehra is one of their most important festival that includes Durga Pooja. In southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the day (Dussehra) sees Saraswati Puja being organized in most households and education of small kids commences from this auspicious day onwards, which is known as ‘Vidya aarambham’. Mysore Dussehra is also known for its grandeur. Thus, the name or the way of celebrating this pious Hindu festival might be different across the country, but it celebrates the victory of good over evil all over.

SOURCE: scoophub.in

Eid-Ul-Fitur

This festival celebrated by the Muslims of the country is to encourage human beings to forgive and forget any differences, hostilities with others which may have occurred through the year. The Eid day starts at the dawn, where people gather in mosques, plazas or outdoor squares to perform prayers. It celebrates the conclusion of the holy month of fasting Ramadan. The key attractions of this festival is the beautifully decked up markets and mosques, the morning Eid namaz, the sweet dishes and Iftar parties which take place.

People offering Namaz on the occasion of Id-ul-Juha, at Jama Masjid in Delhi on October 16, 2013.

SOURCE: bhdplanet.com

Ganesh Chaturthi

A 10 day affair, Ganesh Chaturthi, is one of the most important festivals that Indians look forward to. Huge handcrafted idols of Lord Ganesha are installed in homes or outdoors in public pandals. Celebrations go on through these 10 days and special puja is performed in the morning and evenings. The significance of this festival is celebrating Lord Ganesha’s birthday. The last day is the day of Visarjan – immersion of the idol in a water body. What makes this even more fun is the singing, dancing and other cultural activities that last all the ten days.

SOURCE: blog.bedandchai.com

Holi

One of the most well-known and favorite festival for both Indians and foreigners is Holi. Also known as the festival of colors, Holi is one of the famous festivals of India, celebrated with a lot of fervor across the country. On the eve of Holi, people make huge Holika bonfires and sing and dance around it. On the day of Holi, people gather in open areas and apply dry and wet colors of multiple hues to each other, with some carrying water guns and colored water filled balloons. Holi is one of the most vibrant celebrations of this country.